Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) Share Price Crosses Below 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)’s stock price crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.89 and traded as low as $47.08. Jefferies Financial Group shares last traded at $47.3710, with a volume of 1,200,480 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on JEF. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $57.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Capital One Financial set a $50.00 price objective on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.86.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 2.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 1.54.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is presently 43.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Jefferies Financial Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 9,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 138.5% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 536,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,547,000 after purchasing an additional 311,704 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $334,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,507 shares during the period. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 20,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc is a global financial services company whose principal business is conducted through Jefferies, its investment banking and capital markets business. Jefferies advises companies and financial sponsors on mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and other strategic matters, and helps clients raise capital through debt and equity offerings. It also provides securities research, sales and trading, and related services to institutional investors and other clients.

The company serves clients across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.